Ties That Bind (27 page)

“Do that again.”

“What?”

“Pat my foot.”

He awkwardly obliged. Kate’s face lit up. “I
felt that.”

“Really?”

“Oh, Gavin’s going to be pissed. You got two
firsts. I definitely felt that.” Kate giggled. “Pull the sheets
back.”

Jack did as she asked, his eyes darting from
her face to her feet. Kate stared intently at her feet, chewing her
bottom lip in concentration.

“Katie, I’m so sorry,” Gavin’s apology burst
from his lips the second he entered the room.

“Shhh,” Jack put a hand on Gavin’s shoulder
to hold him in place, whispering an explanation. “She felt
something.”

“Bloody hell. Why do you get all of the
firsts?”

“Shhh,” Kate hushed him that time. Three
pairs of eyes watched her toes intently. They watched them long
enough that when her big toe moved ever so slightly, they all
looked at each other to be sure they weren’t the only one to have
seen it.

“Do it again,” a grin split Gavin’s tired
face.

“Okay,” Kate nodded enthusiastically. And she
did. This time all five toes on her left foot wiggled on command.
She beamed triumphantly at Gavin and Jack. They laughed and clapped
each other on the shoulder.

“You’re going to walk down that aisle yet,
Katie girl,” Gavin knelt at her side to grab her hands in his.

“I will,” she promised.

“I’ve got to call the girls,” Jack excused
himself to the corner of the room, where he began speed dialing to
share the news that Kate had wiggled her toes.

“What’s this?” Gavin noticed the present
still on Kate’s bed.

“Jack brought me my sanity,” Kate teased.
“And I’ve missed it so.”

“If I’d known it was that easy to reclaim,
I’d have brought you one of those a while ago.”

“Thank you.”

“I was teasing.”

“No, thank you Gavin. For loving me. For
loving me enough to tell me to stop feeling sorry for myself. For
sitting by this bed. For all of it. Thank you.”

“Oh. That makes way more sense. You’re
welcome?”

“Do you remember how you looked at me when we
first met? Like you wanted to eat me alive or something? Do you
think you’ll ever look at me like that again?”

“Most assuredly.”

“Hello… father in the room.” Jack called from
his corner.

“Sorry,” Kate apologized then turned her
attention back to Gavin. “Good. Because I don’t want this to be how
you see me from now on… this helpless… thing.”

“Helpless? What do you mean? You can wiggle
your toes like nobody’s business,” Gavin winked. “Come on; do it
again.”

“Okay,” she giggled conspiratorially and
wiggled the toes on both feet.

Every visitor that day got to see the toe
wiggle. Gaston declared that toes getting that much attention
needed a pedicure and later that day, saw to it himself. Kate was a
little surprised at how grateful she was for it, to have something
about her that felt pretty.

Gavin and Kate were both taken aback when
Darrin and Jill walked through the door that evening.

“We’d have been here sooner, but thought it
would be boring just watching you sleep. The toe movement Gavin
called about seemed much more exciting,” Darrin teased her with a
wink.

“Don’t listen to him,” Jill hugged Kate then
Gavin. “We’ve all been sick with worry. Ellen had a bit of a
setback, so we waited to be sure she was fine before coming. We’re
sorry we weren’t here sooner.”

“Mum had a setback?” Gavin’s eyes sharpened.
“Why didn’t you call me?”

“You had enough going on. It was just a
little reaction to the medication they put her on. She’s right as
rain now,” Darrin clapped Gavin on the shoulder.

“She is,” Jill promised, knowing Gavin
wouldn’t believe Darrin. He seemed to relax at her words.

Kate enjoyed their visit. It was good to hear
how everyone was doing and to talk about something other than toes,
spinal injuries and psychopaths for a change. They agreed to stay
at Kate’s for the remainder of their visit so they could help Gavin
by taking care of Ty.

The downside to the movement was the
beginning of physical therapy or, as Kate had ordained it,
hospital-sanctioned torture sessions. The upside was the doctor
ordered another MRI and declared her fit for the sitting position.
Gavin, Darrin and Jill showed up with her reward the evening after
her first session.

“As promised… one burger from Barney’s,”
Gavin smiled charmingly as he began to set the food out on her
tray. “I even brought fries and a shake. Live it up, Kate.”

Food had never tasted so good. At least, the
two bites Kate had of each thing before her stomach revolted and
she’d had to lie back down until the nausea subsided. By then, the
burger had lost its appeal.

“Sorry,” she’d apologized immediately. “I’m
not the best company these days.”

“No worries. Three weeks with no real food,
that was probably shooting for the moon anyway.”

Kate tried to sleep when Darrin and Jill were
gone, but nightmares plagued her. Justin’s face floated through the
darkness, his empty eyes haunted her. She tried to run, but was
rooted to the spot. The long fingers of darkness pulled her down as
she struggled to be free. She’d awaken, disoriented and panicked
when her body still refused to move. Gavin was at her side in an
instant, wrapping his arms around her as he gently lay on the
hospital bed beside her.

“It’s okay, love. I’m here. I’m here,” his
gentle voice was a salve to her troubled spirit. She tried to stay
awake after that but as he sang her song, she found her eyelids
getting heavier and heavier. When they fluttered open again, it was
to the first rays of dawn and Gavin had resumed his post in the
chair beside her bed, undoubtedly chased out of the bed by a
nurse.

The next day Kate greeted visitors from the
recliner and began catching up on email. It was a slow process from
a handheld, but she didn’t mind. It felt good to be reclaiming even
a little bit of control over her life. She tried to look at
physical therapy that way—her way to retake control of her life.
Each day, she did manage to regain a little bit more. She was
growing stronger, always pushing herself further, harder.

Kate had never cared less about weight in her
life, so naturally the pounds just melted away. Between the
physical exertion of the daily torture sessions and the fact that
she still ate very little, keeping her weight up was the new
concern. Kate only regretted that she couldn’t fully enjoy the turn
of events. She almost didn’t recognize the hollow-cheeked person in
the mirror.

Darrin and Jill came to visit every morning
and evening. Kate eagerly anticipated their visits. Gavin seemed to
liven up when they were around, not that it was hard to see why.
They had a vibrancy that radiated from them. As individuals, they
were both fascinating people in their own right. As a couple, they
were positively magnetic. Kate could listen to them for hours and
not get bored. Although she knew the day would come, she was still
sad to see them return to London.

After the toe-excitement, things started to
progress rapidly. Kate worked hard with her physical therapist,
trying to keep just how hard from Gavin. She wanted to surprise him
with the results. She wasn’t disappointed at all by the look on his
face the first time she came back from a therapy session shuffling
along with a walker instead of in a wheelchair. He could have lit
the darkest night with his smile, and it made every bead of sweat
worthwhile. Gavin celebrated the accomplishment by getting Kate a
pair of violet pumps that exactly matched the pair lost to the Bay
and Ty’s stomach.

Not a moment too soon, the day came when the
doctor came to talk to her and Gavin about making arrangements for
her to continue her rehabilitation from home. Kate hadn’t expected
the fight that would ensue, but she should have.

“What do you mean you’re going to stay with
Jack and Tara?” The hurt was evident on Gavin’s face.

“I’d planned to stay with Joan, but that’s so
far. I wouldn’t see you much. Tara offered…”

“But I told you I was letting the lease on my
loft lapse… I thought we’d agreed.”

“It absolutely makes more sense for you to
move into my place,” Kate assured him quickly. “But you have to
work. Tara can work from home. Besides, there are just some things
she’s better suited to help me with.”

“Do you think you two will have this worked
out by Thursday?” The doctor interrupted.

“Absolutely,” they both promised, not taking
their eyes off of each other.

“Good,” he left them to it.

“It’s just until the wedding,” Kate reached
for his hand.

“I told you I’d sleep on the couch,” he
scowled, not so easily consoled.

“You’re six-foot-two. I don’t see you getting
much rest that way,” she pointed out. “But it’s not about that.
Have you considered who’s going to help me shower?”

“Me. I can take care of you.”

“Can you take care of me and there still be
any amount of mystery or anticipation come the wedding night?” Kate
demanded. “I get it; I’m not in control of this. I have to trust
others, blah, blah, blah. I have to have someone supervise my trips
to the bathroom. But that person can’t be you. Please Gavin, give
me this much.”

“I don’t like it,” he hesitated. “It should
be me taking care of you.”

“And there’s lots of ways you can. Damn it,
Gavin, I was dead inside when you met me. I was completely used up
by life. It’s like I’d forgotten I was a woman. You made me
remember what I was, what I am. It’s killing me that you’ve seen me
as this weak creature that smells like a hospital and looks like
she belongs in a Tim Burton movie.”

“And I’ve told you time and again that’s not
going to change because of this. I love you more than you give me
credit for.”

“To be honest, I’m more worried about how I
feel about me,” Kate lowered her gaze. What she didn’t tell him is
that she was terrified to face the nights without him at her side.
Sometimes she wondered if she’d ever stop seeing Justin’s face or
fighting the darkness that chased her. But restoring her
relationship with Gavin was more important than that right now. No
matter how many times he assured her that his love would not let
her down, Kate was desperate to reclaim some of the way they once
were.

“Ah,” he sat down and thought about her
words. “I guess I can understand that. Just until the wedding,
then?”

“Hey, I didn’t tell you the most exciting
part,” Kate forcibly brightened. “They live right down the street
from the Spreckles Mansion. I can totally stalk Danielle
Steele.”

“Well that makes it all better, then,” he
said wryly. “I can visit you in jail instead of at Jack’s.”

“No spirit of adventure,” she shook her head
woefully.

“So, have you set a date?” Liz eyed Kate
pointedly over a cup of coffee.

“Not yet,” Kate frowned a little. “And I
think it’s bothering Gavin.”

“I don’t blame him. It’s bothering me and
it’s not my wedding.”

“How was Hawaii?” Kate arched an eyebrow.

“Totally different.”

“Really? How so?”

“If Liz schedules her honeymoon, will you set
a date?” Jessica suggested a compromise.

“Why is everyone suddenly so keen on me
setting a date?” Kate demanded.

“Because you’ve been home a month,” Jessica
set her cup down and leaned towards her. “You’re walking with
hardly any help. You’ve even been in to the office a couple of
times. It’s time to move on with your life.”

“Don’t let some creepy guy ruin your fairy
tale,” Liz urged.

“I don’t want Gavin worrying about breaking
me on our wedding night,” Kate frowned. “I want to be better. I
mean, really better.”

“And you will be,” Jessica assured her. “But
if you don’t start planning, you’ll be getting married in a
drive-thru chapel.”

“Oh, don’t do that,” Liz wrinkled her nose in
distaste. “That’s bad.”

“The Christmas party is right around the
corner,” Kate argued feebly.

“No one’s suggesting you get married in
January,” the tone of Jessica’s voice left little room for
argument.

“Gavin’s mother had that set-back,
though.”

“And she’d doing much better now. Gavin said
she should be okay to travel by spring,” Liz crossed her arms and
waited for the next excuse.

“I don’t know….” Kate bit her lower lip in
thought.

“Come on. You know it’ll make Gavin so happy
if you just set a date,” Liz leaned forward eagerly; she could tell
Kate was faltering.

“It is his birthday,” Kate frowned. The
waterproof camera bag she’d ordered online seemed pretty
underwhelming now that the day was here. She looked at Jessica. “Do
you think you could fit into a bridesmaid’s dress by mid-June?”

“Yes!” Jessica clapped excitedly.

“Don’t you go getting pregnant between now
and then,” Kate sternly informed Liz.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Liz
held her hands up.

“So, will you go on your honeymoon now?” Kate
leaned back in her chair and fixed her eyes on Liz.

“Fine, I’ll go, I’ll go,” Liz conceded.

“So how are you going to tell Gavin?”
Jessica’s face lit up. “You have to do something special.”

“You know what, you’re right. I should treat
him to something special… what do you think?”

“Jardinière,” Liz answered without
hesitation. “Get all dolled up and take him to Jardinière.”

“That’s good,” Jessica agreed
enthusiastically.

“I don’t think I have anything to wear,” Kate
hedged.

“We’ll go pick something up for you. I’m sure
Tara would loan you the limo for the night. Call him now. I’ll make
the reservations,” Liz picked up her phone before Kate had time to
argue.